The Newcomers Trilogy
by capricious star
Summary: AM trilogy. Marco's love, his love's betrayal, her twin, and the rest of the gang. Traveling to another world, literally. Heartbreak, sadness, depression, happiness, shagging ... ::covers face with hands:: How did I ever write this? Please R/R.
1. A Lost World (Book 1)

The Newcomer: A Lost World #1 

By 

Anigirl 

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[A/N: THANK YOU FOR READING THIS! Bless your heart. Yes, I know, I have to go spoiling everything with a weird comment. But that's 'cuz I'm hyper and insane. Please review it! And, PLEASE e-mail me at [ Anigirl@columnist.com ][1] and check out my webpage at [ www.angelfire.com/ca4/anigirlanimorphs/ ][2] Thanx!] 

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Generations come and  
Generations go,   
But the earth remains  
Forever.  
The sun rises and the sun  
Sets,   
And hurries back to where it  
Rises.  
The wind blows to the south  
And turns to the north;   
Round and round it goes,   
Ever returning on its  
Course.   
All things are wearisome,   
More than one can say.   
The eye never has enough of  
Seeing,   
Nor the ear its fill  
of hearing

There is no remembrance of  
Men of old,   
And even those who are yet  
to come  
will not be remembered  
by those who follow.   


--Ecclesiastes 1:4-1:8, 1:11 

* * *

** Chapter 1 **

Aurelia 

I had to run. To hide. My planet and people have been destroyed and I have no place to go. My twin and I have escaped. Only us. 

_ you must run . . . _

{I know! I know! But where do I go?} 

_ you must find the Animorphs . . . _

{But where are they?} 

_ you will find them . . . _

{How?} 

_ you must trust me . . . I will bring you there . . . _

"Where do we go?" cried Aolani. 

"I don't know," I cried, frustrated, "but She said to trust Her." 

"So we keep running?" 

"I don't know!" 

I ducked as something flew over my head. 

"We need Your help!" 

_ you must trust me . . . _

I looked at Aolani. She shrugged and stopped running 

As much as I had begged for Her help, I wasn't so trusting. Hesitating, I slowly stopped running. The Hork-Bajir were getting closer and closer. 

The mist swirled. I felt my molecules breaking up, as I disappeared. 

After I fully materialized, I looked around. "Where are we?" I wondered. 

"This looks like our planet before the Yeerks came, except the sky was more silver and it was hazier." 

"Yeah. But where-do you suppose we're on . . ." I barely said the name for fear it wouldn't be true. 

"Earth?" Aolani's black eyes went wide. "Do you really think so?" 

See, Earth is 'related' to our planet. A long time ago, the meteorite that knocked over Uranus also knocked part of Earth off, which went flying into a different planet in a different galaxy. 

After it hit the planet, it sort of clung on. So gradually it 'melted' into the other plant. We come from there. But we are both humans with slight differences. 

We depended on the Stones. If one person's Stone is destroyed, they will die. Our planet spoke to us. It did. But now it is dead. Our planet was life. The planet _ lived. _ Like a person, yet different. Each person had a 'partner.' A companion, a best friend. My partner was Aolani, of course. 

"Now we just have to find the Animorphs." 

"Like that's going to be easy? Gimme a break." 

"I'll find them." Aolani's talent was location. 

"We're near them." 

"Huh?" I had been trying to picture them. 

"Just keep on walking. We'll find them eventually." 

I heard voices. "I think we already did." 

** Chapter Two **

Jake 

We had an easy day off. No mission. Tomorrow Erek would get to us, though. 

"Let's go watch a movie," Cassie suggested. 

"Let's go shopping." 

"Rachel! We have to put up with you in fights . . . PUH-leese don't ask us to put up with you at the mall!" 

Ax's tail suddenly rose. 

"What's wrong Ax?" 

{Listen. There is a noise.} 

He was right. There was a rustling of some sort. I heard whispers. 

Two girls walked into the barn. They looked strikingly similar and were wearing normal everyday clothes. I would've mistaken them for humans, but there was something about them that distinguished them from the rest. They were probably twins, I decided. 

Their eyes were jet black as if they had no irises with long black lashes with shadows that danced on their cheeks, and their black slightly curled hair glowed red in the sunlight. They had a smooth white complexion, but not so white that you might think they were vampires or something, with red full lips. They also had a scar on their foreheads, but one of them had a smaller one. They were, in fact, exceedingly pulchritudinous. More than Rachel, even, and there was a glow around them. One of them smiled at us. She had straight white teeth. 

"Hello," the other said. "My name is Aolani. This is Aurelia. Are you the Animorphs?" 

** Chapter Three **

Cassie 

Automatically, we all looked at Jake. 

"Who are you?" Marco asked, eyes narrowed. 

"I already told you," the one called Aolani said, "I'm Aolani and she's Aurelia. You can call her Aura, and you can call me Ann. Are you the Animorphs or not?" 

Marco glanced at Jake. "Should we?" 

Jake crossed his arms. "First explain who you _ really _ are, not your names." 

"Oh, so shrewd, aren't we? Well, I suppose that's supposed to be good." I saw the one called Aurelia shoot a startled glance at Aolani. "We're from a different planet. A 'sister' planet, I suppose you could call it." 

Ax stared at her. {You are of the living planet?} 

"Wait, wait, wait, guys, could someone tell me what you mean by 'living planet?'" 

"You don't know? Well, then again, your planet isn't living. We-" 

"Our planet is to living! There are those little microscopic organism things in the dirt, you know in the plant fertilizer? And there are these little white dots?" 

"Oh, Marco, you are completely clueless," said Rachel, "forgive me Aura, but he's just one of the few completely clueless idiots here on Earth. Anyway, welcome to Earth. Could you please explain what you mean by 'sister' planets better?" 

I noticed the 'twins' took to her easily. Especially Aura. 

"Well," she began, "you know, like how Japan-was it?-is your sister city?" 

"Ah, yes. But Earth doesn't know you. That can hardly be called 'sister.'" 

"I suppose so," Aura said sadly, "and now Earth never will." 

"Why not?" 

"Our planet, our people, have been destroyed." 

"By who?" 

"They have been destroyed," she said simply, "by the Yeerks." 

** Chapter Four **

Rachel 

The twins were nice. So far. I liked Aura more, for some reason. Ann, well, there was something so ** serious ** about her that wasn't so nice. 

"They have been destroyed," Aura said, "by the Yeerks." 

"The _ Yeerks? _ How did they get there?" 

"We knew about them, even when they had done a silent invasion. But our army was fighting somewhere else. Far away. We could not reach them. We had no defense. They did not infest us. They did not take one host except for the One. They weakened us, not by infestation, but by number. When we were too weak, they destroyed us. 

"We would not have gotten away without Her help. With Her dying breath, She transmitted us here because we were Her only surviving children." 

"Who is 'Her?'" 

"Our planet, of course." 

"Ah. What happened to your planet, exactly?" 

"They have destroyed the Living source. So now the planet will die and the rest will become simple meteorites." 

I wondered what it was like to have your planet "die." But then again, judging from what she had said, our planet wasn't exactly "alive" either so I wouldn't know. 

"How come they didn't infest you?" 

"Every one of Her children have a talent. One and only one. We also have the power to repel things, but not very big things. We could easily repel the Yeerks away from us. 

"Eventually they got tired of it and set upon destroying us. Eva, that was her name, I think, commanded them. It was she who personally saw to and succeeded in the one and only infestation." 

The blood drained from Marco's face. 

"What?" asked Ann. 

"Eva . . . her . . . she . . . she's still alive, right?" 

"Yes, although she shouldn't be. Why do you ask?" Aolani inquired. 

"Eva . . . she's my mother." 

**Chapter Five**

Aolani 

"EVA? That stinking, foul, smelly-" I rambled through all the profanity I knew, "-bastard of a Yeerk was your _mother?!_" 

"HEY! Don't diss my mom. That was the YEERK, you know." 

"Makes no difference. I mean-" 

Aurelia patted me softly on the hand. "It's okay, Ann, calm down." 

Did I mention, that even though we're identical, me and Aura are _very_ different? She's the peacemaker, the soft, sweet, and gentle one, while I am the one who always gets into fights, has a temper, sharp tongue, and is rude and obnoxious. Hey, I'm just quoting what one girl said about me. 

"Sorry, no offense," said Aura, trying to smooth things down, "Ann is just a little quick sometimes. You just have to understand, after what they did to our planet . . ." She let it hang. 

Our eyes met. You know, how they say twins have a connection to each other? Well, I guess that's what happens between me and Aura. We have a connection. 

She understood why I was mad at Eva. I _knew_ it was the Yeerk, not Eva herself, but I was still mad. _Very _ mad. 

I could see that Rachel liked Aura. Everyone does. Or did. You could just tell, from her name, _Aurelia. Aura._ It just sounds SO nice, like honey or whatever they say. My name, Aolani, is just plain weird. I'm a freak. Like my name. Ann is so plain, too. Aura always was the fav of our parents anyway. But I'm used to being second. 

"Well," said Marco, with an uncertain glance at me, "shall we watch a movie? Go to the Gardens? NOT go to the mall?" 

"Let's vote," said Jake. 

"I think we should see a movie," I said. 

"AT LAST! SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOOD ENTERTAINMENT!" cried Marco. 

"Why?" 

Aurelia did the talking, since we both knew that I couldn't possibly control my temper right now, even if it was a little thing like a movie. 

"We'd like to see what your kind does." 

"Oh, so it's our kind now? Aren't we sisters are something?" said Marco sarcastically. 

"No, we just want to see the difference." 

"Let's just go to the movie," said Jake, "I don't want to spend the rest of the time bickering about what we're going to do. Besides, we'll probably fight over which movie, too." 

** Chapter Six **

Tobias 

And fight we did. First, we had to find a movie that was less then one hour and fifty minutes. That was pretty easy, since there were a lot of movies one and a half hours, but then we had to decide again. We bickered and finally decided on _Drive Me Crazy._ Then, when Marco wanted to buy snacks, we didn't have enough money. 

"Oh come on, guys, a movie has to have at least popcorn and a drink for everyone!" 

"We can get small drinks, but we can't get an X-Large popcorn which we have to get in order to feed six-" there was a pause "eight people. Especially with Ax! Plus you can get refills for it so that should take care of the problem." 

"But we don't have enough money! How could we be such idiots and not bring any money?" 

"This comes from Mr. Marco who says he forgot all his money at home," mused Rachel, "on a day when he knows we'll be out and we're only missing a dollar! What a pity . . ." 

"I forgot it, Rachel. Is that reasonable enough for you?" 

I glanced at the twins. They were watching Marco and Rachel coldly, faintly amused, as if they were observing a group of animals 'fighting it out.' Aurelia had a distorted look on her face of pity and amusement, but Aolani had a look of utter coldness and distaste. 

I wasn't so sure I liked them anymore. 

We finally decided on a Large popcorn with a special cup for Ax, so he wouldn't eat the whole thing. We advised him to go slowly as to make it last, but it was gone in the first two minutes. Aurelia gave him her share. 

I was starting to get the feeling that Aurelia was nicer than Aolani. Much nicer. 

After the movie was done, and we were walking to a safe space to demorph, I asked, "So what happened on your planet?" 

I don't remembered what happened nest. All I remember her saying, "It's none of your business, Chicken-Legs," and being slammed into the wall. By Aolani, of course. 

I had the feeling she had a lot of experience. 

To my surprise, Rachel didn't say anything. When Aolani was finished calling me names, she asked coldly, "What did you do that for?" 

"Because, Chicken-Legs right there, that boy, has just insulted my planet, my kind, and my people!" 

"Um, isn't kind and people the same thing?" asked Marco meekly. 

If looks could kill, then Ann's would've. Marco got the message and backed off immediately. Aurelia was laughing softly and quietly. 

Her laughter started us off. A chain reaction. We must have looked funny then, a group of kids, laughing, leaning on walls or poles for support. In Marco's case, on the floor. 

When we finally stopped laughing, Marco said, "That's not fair! You start laughing when Aura starts laughing, but you don't laugh at me! It's unfair!" 

"Maybe, Marco, it's because she's funnier than you?" 

"That's impossible! I am the best! I am the best!" chanted Marco. 

"Oh shut up, Marco, you're beginning to annoy me. Please say something worthwhile. PLEASE. Or I may have to crush your jaw." 

"Nothing I ever say is worthwhile. So you have to live with it." 

**Chapter Seven**

Aolani 

Aura and I were struck with a dilemma; where would we live? Marco offered to take us to his house because his father was on a business trip. After a few uncertain glances, we accepted. 

Aura and I would sleep on an air mattress. We insisted on it, because our own beds at home were air, in a way, too. I was slightly uncomfortable with sleeping on any bed, but I had to make do. 

I realized I couldn't sleep. Then I got up to go to the kitchen, wondering what they had in the refrigerator. To my surprise, I found Marco there. 

"So, welcome to planet Earth." 

I nodded in return. 

"That was pretty awesome what you did to Tobias there. I know I shouldn't say that if I still want to be alive tomorrow, which I do, but I mean _really._ You were awesome. No offense to bird-boy, though." 

"Thanks." I wasn't sure now if I wanted to bash his head in or take that as a compliment. 

"Please don't get mad at me, but what really did happen on your planet?" 

I sighed. I might as well as tell the whole group together, but somehow I found myself talking and Marco listening attentively. 

"Well, we knew the Yeerks were here ten years ago, when Aura and I were still very young. We knew it, but they didn't know we did. They started up a restaurant called The Ray, but it didn't work. But here is were we failed. They secretly set up another one, and when they put up a closed sign, we thought they had given up. Fools as we were, we kept on going to the new restaurant. Eva was the supervisor. She oversaw the first infestation. It was she who plunged the Yeerk into Lilac's head. It is Lilac only who stands as a controller today. 

"Lilac was well liked. In fact, she was our best friend. She tricked the poor souls who still didn't know into coming, but luckily they were able to escape. Meanwhile, our army was fighting in a different part of the galaxy. They were too far away, even by zero-space. "The Yeerks played on our pride, killing one by one, by stature of importance. We were defenseless and they knew it. And they massacred us by destroying the altar." 

"The altar?" asked Marco. 

"Once in a while the people give their Stones to the Altar to polish and restore strength. Only a few rich people did that. But the Yeerks chose to massacre us before a holiday, when everyone had their Stones polished. 

"They stormed in, killed the Altar members, and grabbed all the Stones. Then, they put them in a machine that crushed them all. At that moment, 7,800 people died." 

"Talk about a massacre." 

"Yeah." 

We sat in silence. I got up and made myself a PB&J. 

"So?" Marco prompted. 

"So what?" 

"What happened after that?" 

"The Yeerks went open. They . . . set up a bomb, burned a deep hole in the planet, and dropped it in. It was deep enough to harm Her. All this they got out of Lilac, of course. 

"When we realized that She was harmed, it was too late. The Yeerks came after us just as She was weakening. We were killed by the hundreds every second. Only Lilac and I escaped. Of our parents . . . I think they were killed. Or they have been transported to somewhere else." 

"You guys had it rough." 

"Yeah." 

"Do you think that'll happen to us, too, later?" 

"No . . . for one thing, your army could never be far away, no offense, but you haven't accomplished space travel or anything. Plus, you don't have Stones or anything so to kill you, you would have to do it directly . . . and it doesn't matter if your planet dies or not, because it doesn't live." 

"No, you're wrong. I think, in a way, it _does_ live." 

I looked into his soft brown eyes, and in a split second, we kissed. 

**Chapter Eight**

Aurelia 

I woke up without Ann by my side. _Where was she?_ I wondered. 

I padded out into the kitchen, where I found her and Marco talking. 

"Uh, hi guys," I said uncertainly, "I woke up without you. Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," Ann said, and she blushed. 

"Um, Aolani, are you SURE you're okay?" Ann usually did NOT blush, and there was something wrong with her expression. I don't mean wrong as in not right, I mean as in different. 

"I think I'll be getting back to sleep now," Ann said. "Oookay," I said. 

I lay back down on the mattress. "What's with Marco?" I asked. 

She turned to me, eyes shining. "Aura, do you remember Zenith?" 

"How could I forget? I had the biggest crush on him out of everyone in the fourth level." 

"So you say. But I-" 

"Is this about Marco?" 

"Yes." 

I smiled understandingly, shook my finger at her and went back to sleep. 

The next day when I woke up Ann was gone, so I got up. I checked Marco's room, but he was gone too. So I figured they were out supposedly "talking" together again. 

I went into the kitchen, fixed myself a piece of toast with butter, and turned on the TV. I sat watching for about ten minutes when they both came in, breathless. 

I put my hands on my hips and said with mock seriousness, "Where have you been?" 

"Out walking." 

"I just knew it." They smiled at each other as if keeping a secret and left. 

** Chapter Nine**

Jake 

The next day at school, the twins stayed with Rachel and Cassie as special guests. I noticed Marco was acting different. I asked him why. 

"Oh, nothin'," he said. 

"You sure?" 

"100% sure," he said. 

"Okay, whatever." But I kept an eye on him for the rest of the time. 

After Science was lunch. Marco wanted to sit with Cassie, the twins, and Rachel. 

"Marco! What do you think you're doing? We can't sit with them!" 

"Why not?" 

"Remember? We can't let them know we're a group or else they'll become suspicious! Especially since this week it's _his_ duty to oversee the lunch room!" 

"Jake, you're such a worrywart. Why would _they _ pay attention to us?" But we didn't sit together anyway. 

We met at the barn. 

"So how was our school?" I asked. 

"It was cool," said Aolani and Aurelia together. 

"How do you do that twin thing?" asked Marco. "You know, when you talk at the exact same time." 

"It's easy. You just go like this." 

"See?" they both said at the exact same time. We doubled over in laughter. 

A few minutes later Erek appeared. And not looking to happy about it, either. 

"'Sup?" I asked Erek. 

He gave me a grim smile. "They're going to bomb a planet." 

** Chapter Nine **

Cassie 

"THEY'RE GOING TO BOMB A WHAT?" said Aolani. 

"A planet," he said. 

"So how do we save a planet?" asked Jake. 

Erek eyes us critically. "I have located a Pemalite ship. It is only a matter for you to find it and then fly it to the planet." 

"So what exactly is this planet?" 

"The living planet, order of _Hdahfm,_ class _Jdhaga._" 

"They already bombed it," said Aolani in a harsh voice. 

"How do you know?" 

"My sister and I," she indicated Aurelia, "are of the living planet." 

** Chapter Ten**

Marco 

Erek was both shocked and stunned. For a moment. 

"They already bombed it? No, wait, they didn't bomb the whole thing. Only half of the planet is destroyed. The Yeerks are thinking of destroying the other half. But to do so would take an immense amount of energy. Immense. They already bombed one half, which took up a lot of energy already. So if you can convince them not to bomb the other half, then . . ." his voice trailed off. 

I saw the twins' face light up. "Half the planet is still there? And people, too?" exclaimed Ann. 

"Yup." 

"Is it possible," said Aura, drawing a deep breath, "that we might go home, too?" 

"Yes." 

"OH MY GOD!" she cried. She and Ann started to hug each other and jump up and down. 

I didn't want them to go. As brief as I had known them, I- I shook my head. I just didn't want them to go. Nothing else. 

"But if they blow up the whole planet, then they'll be weakened and we can destroy them easily," I pointed out. I was trying to make them, or rather _ her, _ stay. 

Rachel nodded. "For once, Marco actually has a point." She shot a helpless glance at Aura. As much as Rachel liked Aura, she disliked Yeerks even more. 

Jake sighed. "Any other suggestions?" 

"This isn't a suggestion," said Cassie, "but I just wanted to make a point. Isn't this just our planet or theirs? Simplifying this whole damn business?" 

Jake nodded. "Cassie's right. It's either save their planet and have the Yeerks wreck havoc on ours, or have their planet destroyed and increasing our statistics of winning greatly." 

"Oh, god, Jake, have you been listening to the stock market lately?" 

Jake rolled his eyes. "Can't help it," he said, "my dad insists on listening to it 24 hours a day ever since he caught the sickness." 

I smiled. But I still didn't want Ann to go. I didn't love her . . . I just-I didn't know. I was so confused. 

Luckily, Jake said, "Let's sleep on it. Tomorrow we decide." 

The twins were still sleeping at my house. Dad had called to say that he had met my math teacher up there and was staying for another week. Renting a room, I suppose. 

I told the twins to go ahead and went back to the barn. Cassie was still there, bandaging a duck's wing. 

"Hi, Marco," she smiled. 

"Hi, Cassie, I-" 

"You wanted to talk to me about Aolani?" 

"Yeah. How did you know?" 

She just smiled and said, "Talk to me." 

So I told her about that night. About . . . what happened. And how I didn't want Ann to leave. Why I _really_ made that suggestion. 

She nodded. "It's nice you tried talking, for a change, Marco. Did you tell Aolani about it?" 

"No." 

"Well, if you try telling her, maybe she won't go. Or maybe you could . . ." Cassie shook her head. "Not yet. Why don't you just tell her?" 

"Um, okay. You sure?" 

"Positive. Get back to me tomorrow." 

"You mean I tell her TODAY? No way, that's impossible." 

"If you don't tell her today, then she may be gone tomorrow, or it'll be too late." 

I sighed. "Oh, fine, whatever. But if she kills me, you're to blame." 

She just smiled. 

* * *

When I arrived home, everyone was asleep. I looked into the twins' room. They were sleeping soundly. I didn't want to wake Ann up, so instead, I kissed her cheek and went to bed. 

**Chapter Eleven**

Aurelia 

Aolani was asleep. How could she possibly be asleep? Wasn't she excited by--but then again, Ann had always been picky about little things then big things. That's why she got into fights so often. Because someone or something had offended her. 

I tried counting sheep and finally fell asleep. 

When I woke up in the morning, Ann was still asleep. I woke her up. 

"What?" she said sleepily. 

"Today we get to go home," I reminded her. 

"Oh, yeah, huh. So what?" 

"So . . . you have to get up!" 

"Oh, fine." She said. Ten minutes later, we were at Cassie's. Erek was there. 

"Our ship is at the Marina Trench," he said. "You should morph whatever creature is able to go there. There will be a black spot, which is actually a hole, on the side. Go in and morph out immediately, since there will be no water." 

"Okay. Got it." 

"Ask Ax to fly it. He'll know where." He looked at Ax, who had backed away into the door. 

{Yes.} 

"Okay," said Rachel, "let's do it!" 

"We're doomed . . ." 

Ann and I couldn't morph yet, so they brought out the Escafil Device. After a mini-electric shock, we acquired some morphs at The Gardens. 

We both acquired a panther, a killer whale, and a boa constrictor. My specialty morph would be the panther, however, and Ann's a boa. But then again, we had figured out something they did not know yet. Ann, who had always been the brighter one, figured out a way so we could morph from one morph to another. This had to do with something very complicated with our talents. The others probably couldn't do it, because they didn't have "talents" like us, if you know what I mean. 

Aolani already had a trick in her head. We would morph each other and then morph into the battle morphs, tricking the others. Of course, Cassie had already told us why we couldn't morph a human without their permission, but we had each other's permission. Supposedly. 

When we acquired some bug morphs and were eating lunch, Aolani and I found an excuse to go outside. We morphed each other, which wasn't very difficult, since we look alike except I have a smaller scar on my forehead. To our surprise, we had a leotard on. 

"Oh well," said Aolani, "just switch outer clothing and let's go." 

When we came back in, they barely noticed us. I was about to head back to my seat when Ann nudged me and I remembered I was her and she was me. Confusing? I should say so. 

At the beach, there happened to be a whale stuck. Tons of people were washing it with water to make sure it lived. Ann and I pretended we were helping and acquired the whale. 

"Where were you?" demanded Jake. 

"At that beached whale," I said, trying my best to imitate Ann, "like that would be any of _your_ business?" 

He stared at us, shocked, for a moment, then turned, and left. 

"I guess he isn't used to people standing up to him," I said. "He seems like a pretty nice guy, though." 

"For a 500 year-old," Ann said, giggling. We followed his footprints to where the Animorphs were. Rachel was glaring at me, not Ann. I remembered I was in Ann's body. 

"Well?" Ann prompted. "Are we going to do this or what?" 

"Let's morph in the water," said Jake. "Come on." 

"Okay." I splashed into the water after the others. I took a deep breath and swam to a deep part and morphed the whale with Aolani by my side. 

{Hello?} I asked. I looked around. There was another humpback whale near me. 

{Hey, Aura, long time no see,} it said, {in fact, I haven't seen you at all.} 

{Oh, shut up,} I said, swimming to the top, spouting. 

We swam down again, near a group of squids. {HEY! ANDALITE BANDITS!} I called and we darted away. 

They spun around, if that's possible on a squid. Well, actually they did some sort of complicated wiggle and ended up tangling their tentacles. 

{Get off me, Marco!} 

{What? Hey, no, get off _me_!} 

{Jake, get off my head!} 

{I believe, Prince Jake, that this is very confusing.} 

We laughed privately. They looked so funny, especially when Marco accidentally squirted ink in Rachel's face. Rachel squirted back and soon they were a black spot in the ocean. We couldn't keep our laughter private anymore. 

{Did you hear that?} 

{Hear what?} 

{People laughing.} 

{No. No, wait, yeah.} 

{Hi guys,} I said. 

{Ann!} 

{Aolani!} 

{Ann!} 

{Aolani!} 

{Ann!} 

{Aolani} 

We giggled. 

{Hi, guys,} Ann said. 

{Aurelia!} 

{Aurelia!} 

{Aura!} 

{Aurelia!} 

{Aurelia!} 

{Aura} 

{Is it just me, or do I see a pattern over here?} I asked, looking at Ann, which was sort of difficult when you're a whale. 

{We were worried about you,} said Jake. 

{We were watching,} I said, trying my best to pretend to be Aolani. {We saw . . . we saw the _ink_ accident.} 

Ann and I burst into giggles. 

{That wasn't funny,} said Jake, {let's just get down to that ship. This is _your_ planet we're talking about, you know.} 

{And we could just as easily do it ourselves,} I snapped back. 

{Good job,} said Ann privately. 

Ann closed her eyes and tried to locate the ship. {Let's go this way,} she said to me. 

{Let's go this way,} I repeated. She followed me down and whispered directions to where I should go. 

We soon came in view of the Pemalite ship. {Good job, Ann,} said Marco. I looked at the hole on the side. True, it looked like a simple black dot, but it didn't seem big enough for us to fit in. 

{Oh well,} I said. {Let's just try it.} I dived in, and the whole swelled to accommodate me. The next second, I felt myself gasping for water. 

{Demorph!} came Ann's worried voice behind me. She had successfully demorphed. I struggled and barely made it. 

{Wow, that was close,} I said in thought-speak, since I was still in a different morph. 

{Yeah,} Aolani agreed. 

One squid came in. Then another. And another. Three more. 

The first to demorph was Cassie. She encouraged the others and they also barely made it. I figured she had a talent for morphing. 

I looked around the ship. It was very complicated. 

"Wow," I said, "the Pemalites must have been very advanced. Like us." 

{Yes,} said Ax. {They were.} 

I explored the ship. Some controls I recognized. Others, I didn't. Which was most. 

Ax looked at them, running his fingers over the flashing buttons. {I believe I can maneuver this,} he said, {although this may be difficult.} 

"You fly," I said, "you know for sure where it is." 

{Yes. You teach the others how to work the controls you know and I will teach you the ones you do not know.} 

"Okay," I agreed. Ann stood next to me. We listened carefully as Ax gave us a quick and brief lecture on each button. After like an hour, he stopped. 

"That was long," Ann said. 

"Go figure," I replied, and turned to teach the others. 

{Go figure?} 

"Oh, never mind." Ax started to power the engines. 

{I am afraid, Prince Jake, that we must go through the planet's core.} 

Chapter Twelve 

Aolani 

I cocked my eyebrow. "Okay. Be right back." I was anxious to get back into my own body. Being Aurelia was fun, but I had had to restrain myself many times. 

{Let's morph out!} I hissed. 

{Okay, okay, sure,} came her answer. 

"We'll be right back," called Aurelia as I pulled her by the arm out of the view of the others. We quickly demorphed and switched clothing, leaving the leotard on. 

"What was that all about?" asked Marco, who was walking up to me. 

"Nothing," I snapped, and turned swiftly to the place I was supposed to control. Aurelia had a hard job. She was supposed to make sure the oxygen was balanced, the propellers adjusted to the velocity of the ocean, etc. But then again, she was patient and I wasn't. 

Suddenly there was a flash of light. Ax said calmly, {We are entering the planet's core.} I was the only one standing. Aura was half standing up, leaning on the buttons, because if she ignored her job we would all die. The light had subdued the others. Or did it? 

I shook Marco. "Get up." Nothing happened. "GET UP!" Still nothing. 

I turned to Ax. "Ax? I think they're frozen." 

He knelt down beside Jake. {There was something about the light that froze them. How did you withstand it?} 

Aura glanced nervously at me. Ax waited for a moment, then continued. {They will stay like this for approximately and hour. Please take over their controls as best as you can.} 

"Yeah, sure. Like how are we supposed to take over the entire ship at once? Aura can't afford to do that . . . her job is way too important. And I can't possibly do the whole ship either." 

Aura was staring fixedly at the screen, barely blinking. 

"See? See how concentrated she is? See?" 

I didn't know what I was yelling at Ax for, but I _do_ know I was mad at him for expecting us to take over the whole ship. 

{You must do the best you can.} 

"We're not you almighty Andalites! We have only two hands and five fingers, not seven or eight or whatever it is you have! If you think we can do it, than you're wrong. I don't know if I want to go home with _you_ piloting the ship." I was pointing at him in rage. 

Not taking her eyes away from the screen, Aura said, "Calm down, Aolani." 

Ax was staring at me. 

I turned back to what I was doing, muttering about arrogant Andalites. Inside me a voice was telling me that I had just made a fool of myself in front of Ax, but I ignored it. I could still feel Ax's gaze on me. Then he looked away and returned to piloting the ship. I noticed he was doing the others' job now. _Good for him,_ I thought. 

Journeying through the core was pretty exciting. There was hot magma and metal repelled an inch away from the windows, therefore safe to watch. I thought three hours must have passed when Rachel stirred. Slowly, ever so slowly, one by one, they regained consciousness. 

"Whoa, what happened?" 

"Why am I lying on the floor?" 

"Why am I here?" 

"What's my name?" 

"Who are you?" 

I looked at Aurelia. "Uh-oh," I said. "Do they even remember their names? Marco?" 

Marco looked at me. "I think I'm called Marco. Am I right?" 

"Um, do you remember why you're here?" 

"Um, to go to your world?." 

"What else do you remember?" 

"The last thing I remember is a flash of light." 

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Aura, they haven't lost their memory." 

"That's good." 

"Go back to your station, Marco." 

"Okay." 

He walked off, looking dazed. 

I went back to my place. The other Animorphs had already gone to where they were supposed to be while I was questioning Marco. So far, so good. 

{We are nearing your planet,} reported Ax. 

I dashed to the window. I could see half of our planet. As we neared, I could feel an aching pain in my chest for Her. She looked awful. Her rotation wasn't right and the blown off part was just--I shuddered. I noticed Aura's eyes were glistening. We could both feel the pain of our planet. 

I left my station and went closer to the window. The remaining half of her looked just as magnificent as always. But then, at that very moment, I knew that She was doomed. 

** To be Continued . . . **

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Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? E-mail me at [ Anigirl@columnist.com ][1]

   [1]: mailto:Anigirl@columnist.com
   [2]: http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/angirlanimorphs



	2. A Seperate Species (Book 2)

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#  The Newcomers: A Separate Species #2 

**

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[A/N: Back again! Thought I'd never finish this fic . . . never mind. Anyway, e-mail me at [ Anigirl@columnist.com ][1] or IM me at AniFan121788! Check out my [ webpage ][2] and my column! In addition, I wanna say, to you Geocities lovers, ANGELFIRE ROCKS! ~ahem~ Now we can get back to the story . . . =) Also, I recommend you read the first one or else you wont understand anything because I am NOT explaining anything . . . also, don't flame me because I changed "Ann" to "Anne," but I did that because I liked it, who cares on how it's spelled, maybe you do, maybe _I_ don't, maybe I'm terribly bored and need to do something to excite my life (j/k, I'm actually real busy) and maybe I did it in honor of Anne Shirley. ~ahem~] 

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[A/N: Also, there's a list of people I wanna thank. If you want to see if you're thanked, scroll down because I'm sure you want to read the fic as soon as possible. :) (yeah right)] 

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[A/N: ~audiences groan and roll eyes~ Okay, fine, fine, but I just wanted to say that I turned this into a trilogy, not a series. The Newcomers trilogy. Thank you. ~audiences now sigh with relief~ :)] 

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What is twisted can not be  
Straightened;   
What is lacking can not be  
Counted. 

For with much wisdom  
Comes much sorrow;   
The more knowledge, the  
More grief. 

_--Ecclesiastes 1:15, 1:18_

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** Chapter One**

Aurelia

Our planet was in agony. You could see it. You could feel it. A war was going on, between the Yeerks and us. A war of hatred. They had blown part of Her away, and they would pay for it. 

Have you ever seen something, so beautiful yet twisted, beyond words to describe it? That's what out planet looked like. A beautiful, twisted masterpiece, with part of it blown away, yet somehow more beautiful than before. 

We were landing on a nearby dock where the warriors out fighting would return. Normally, it would've been taboo to land there, but now, who cared? Who noticed? 

Suddenly a hologram of the computerized guard appeared before us. At that I felt a pang of homesickness . . . this was just like the old days . . . except now it wasn't the old days anymore. "Password," it said. 

"Ecclesiastes," I replied. The book of Ecclesiastes is sacred to us . . . the very first thing we learn in school is to memorize it. 

Our species had a name. Besides referring to us as "Her children," our "scientific" name was _Horrificus. _ And how true, how very true, that name suited us. 

"Ecclesiastes?" asked Marco. "Isn't that a book in the Bible?"

"Yep," Aolani replied, "except we don't acknowledge the rest of the Bible here."

For a while, we just wandered around our stricken home world. You could hear an occasional sniffle from Cassie . . . I guess she was a nature person. I wondered what we were going to do, until -

"Hello! Aolani! Aurelia!" cried a very familiar voice. 

"Sapphire!" I cried. 

"Who're they?" asked Rachel. 

Three young girls appeared before us, each more beautiful than the last.

"They are the Gemstone sisters," I replied, "this is Citrine, Sapphire, and Peridot. A few of our close friends."

"Citrine is a gemstone?" asked Marco, "it sounds like citric acid. And what about Peridot?"

"Shut up," Anne hissed. Citrine, who was known for her terrible temper (like Aolani) was looking murderous. 

Jake cleared his throat and immediately resumed his leader-like position, out of what seemed like a shocked stupor. 

"Hi, we're the Animorphs. That's Ax, an Andalite, and, er, well, where shall we go?"

Sapphire giggled. 

Jake looked highly affronted. 

"Is Gemstone their last name?" asked Marco. I bit my lip, knowing Anne was trying not to explode. I knew Citrine would do that for her. 

"No," Citrine said, in an unusually calm voice, (this signified she was ready to explode) "no. We do not belong to such silly nonsense such as "clans" or families. All we are held together are by bonds. And even these break except for the ones that connect you to your Partner."

Then she exploded. 

Even Aolani, who had an even more ferocious temper, cringed. I don't want to mention what she said. Nevertheless, all Citrine was saying was true; it was a mortal insult to us to have a last name. Why? It just was . . . the basic fact of what was good and what was bad implanted in your brain ever since you were a child. The idea that robbery was bad, murder is bad, courtesy is good, being polite was good, it wasn't polite either to walk around nude . . . that sort of stuff. And having a last name was a sort of insult to us too. 

"Well, er, where is your home?" asked Cassie awkwardly after a moment of icy silence.

"Our world is subterranean, simian creatures."

"Um, excuse, me, but we're, like, almost exactly the same creatures as you."

pointed out Rachel.

Citrine eyed her. "Yes, but you're DNA is 99.9% ape-similar, no? We have none at all." And of course there was the other part of us. That we would never tell.

I glanced at Rachel helplessly. Citrine was Citrine.

That was why all the boys like her.

We entered the concealed entrance to our world, underneath the surface.

Half of it was still blown away. Including my house.

I envied Citrine, Peridot, and Sapphire, for their home was on the other side of the home world. They were so lucky. Their homes had remained untouched. It still looked magnificent, the last time I had seen it. We reached the Gemstone sisters' home. Their parents were dead, killed by the Yeerks.

We were to sleep in their room, the living room, and the guest room.

In our world, parents are about an eighth as close to us as the parents on earth are close to their children. We weren't a very loving species.

And that was that.

**Chapter Two**

Marco

The Gemstone sisters lived in a mansion. It was light brown, made from amber with dark brown tiles made of bronze on the roof. The windows, made with diamond, were edged with silver, and the doors were made out of copper. A knocker, made of gold, hung on the double-doors.

Rachel and Cassie were to sleep in their parents' room. Jake, Ax, Tobias, and I would sleep in the living room. Aolani and Aurelia would sleep in the guest room. That had been their room ever since the war with the Yeerks had started.

That was where they usually slept.

I was tired. And uncertain. The flash had made us all feel a bit shaken.

After a dinner of things I couldn't recognize, we went to sleep. I thought tomorrow would be an uneventful day.

How wrong I was.

-----------------

I woke up early again. Looking out of the window, I noticed they had no dawn. All throughout the day, the sky, always tinged with silver, changed colors. Night was the cold colors, but still sufficient enough to see with. Day were the warm colors, extremely bright.

Right now I was watching the sky turn from purple to orange.

I got up and walked over to the guest room. When I opened the door, I seemed to burst into a crystal garden.

Crystals, of all shapes and sizes, of every color imaginable, hung on different lengths from the ceiling. It was glittering brightly. I felt as if I was going blind. 

One side gave you the feeling of being warm. The other side froze you. And that was the side that Aolani slept.

She wasn't sleeping. Her dark eyes were wide open and her hair was spread apart. She looked especially beautiful with her long eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks. Anne was looking out of the window at the "dawn."

I sat down next to Aolani and twined a strand of her hair around my finger.

"Marco," she whispered, "what're you doing up so early?"

"I woke up and I couldn't fall asleep. So I decided to visit you."

She sat up. "You sound like I'm ill or something." She was going to get mad.

"No, no, just relax. I just wanted to see you, okay? Don't get mad at me."

She smiled weakly. "I'm not."

I took her hand in mind, but she didn't notice. "What's wrong?"

She turned and looked at me fiercely in the eye. "I can feel it. Today we're going to fight."

"Fight who?"

"The Yeerks."

**Chapter Three**

Aurelia

I was awake, like Aolani, gazing up at the crystals above me. I lay still, overhearing their conversation. I too could feel it. But it was not my job to fight. My job was to take care of Her. I was not a soldier.

As soon as Anne had been born, it had been decreed that she would be a great fighter. But it had also been decreed that she would die early, in her first battle, too. Not before becoming a heroine, though. That was why I was so afraid of a war coming up.

Marco was staring at Aolani. "Why're you fighting the Yeerks?"

She spoke dully, in a monotone. "We are going to fight for our honor and pride. We have to avenge Her destruction. Or we will die in the making." So she knew she was going to die. But Marco didn't.

"What does it have to do with you?"

"I am a soldier, Marco. I must fight. I am no longer a trainee, but one of the army."

Marco sounded alarmed. "The army?"

She nodded gravely. "Yes. The army."

"But you can't fight! You're too young!"

Fatal mistake. 

Anne's eyes blazed as she got off her bed and stood up, glaring down at Marco who had at last realized his mistake. But, alas, it was too late for him.

She spoke in a steel, calm voice, not unlike the one Citrine had used.

"Do you rally think, just because how old I am, that I cannot fight? You earthlings are weak. Weak. The only race we admired were the Spartans of Ancient Greece. They were true soldiers. But the one thing that demotes them is the fact that they did not let women become soldiers.

"I can fight just as well as an 18 year-old. Even better. I have fought ever since I was a child, among the best of them. I have battle scars to prove them too. When we were small, our biological parents left us. We were among the street children, Aurelia and I. Aurelia was never a fighting type, so I had to defend both of us. Do you think that, now, I cannot fight? Do you really think so? I would fight your tiger morph, your grizzly bear morph, your wolf morph, your gorilla morph, and your Andalite, all pitted against me, and I would win. Do you understand that, you fool, you weakling? Do you? You don't know what life was like for us. I fought well-nourished children, 10 to 1 odds, while I was starving. Do you really think I cannot defend myself? I could kill you blindfolded!"

All the while her voice had been growing louder and louder, until she was finally shouting at the top of her lungs in exasperation and anger at Marco.

Even I, who was her twin, cringed. She had never been that mad before. Never. Either that or I had been knocked out by her rage.

She sat down again, at the foot of her "bed". Marco scooted down next to her again, and put his hand around her waist. She glared at him. "What?!" she barked.

"But why do you talk as if we're different? We're almost exactly the same, right? I mean, once, a long time ago, you were still on earth."

He was pushing his luck. And he had forgotten what Citrine had retorted to Rachel and Citrine's outburst towards him.

She glared at him and stood up. _Uh-oh,_ I thought.

"We could never be together!" _Oh NO,_ I thought. Now Marco would be heartbroken. "We are completely different, Marco. Although outside we look similar, inside we are different. Inside, we live as the _Xiangtsdu_ species lived, long ago. We could _never, **never**_ be together. Did you think that, moron? Did you?

"We have been apart for trillions of years! Do you really want to bet, fool, do you? I could show you millions of differences, each more prominent than the rest. Idiot, how could you possibly say that? Do you not know - "

And then, what I dreaded the most, happened. A piercing, high-pitch shriek resonated in my ears.

Aolani looked at me sadly. Then, letting out a shriek of her own, she disappeared. You couldn't've told that she had stood there a second ago.

** Chapter Four**

Aolani

It had sounded finally. The war-cry, which was to call all warriors to the Army base.

The war would begin.

I appeared again at the Base. I was not the first one.

Citrine was there.

I wasn't sure whether or not I'd been fair to Marco. But that was me. When my temper rises, I say things that I normally would keep to myself. But the problem is, whatever I say, I mean it.

Go figure.

I was still supposed to have one more year of training. But I excelled at my classes, and since they needed as many full-fledged warriors as possible, I was promoted.

My mind kept switching from reality to whatever.

I knew I was going to die today. I knew it. But I also knew that in doing so, I would save Her. And I was willing to do so.

Thinking back to what Marco had said about the similarities, I looked down at my own outstretched hand and wondered. Of course we were related. We had always known that. But we were a mix of two species, two. That set us apart.

Even though we could, we never communicated with other species and planets, and never responded to messages they sent us.

There was a barrier between us and the rest of the universe.

I looked down again at my hand, tracing the veins with one hand. Mine were different from other hands on my own planet. I was a unique being in a unique species.

Does that make sense?

I remembered again what I had said about fighting.

Our biological parents had abandoned us when we were toddlers. Tiny, weak, helpless beings. Luckily, someone took us in and cared for us. But then, when we were about 5, they send us out again.

And then I became what I am now.

I _know_ that I have no feelings. That me, myself, my heart, is dead. I feel no love except for loyalty and a tie to Aurelia.

That's all.

Perhaps if we hadn't been street children, I would have had some emotion. But we were. We were what the hands of the community had molded us into. And it effected me the most. It molded me, my clay of life, into something wild, and ferocious, and morose. I was the enemy of my kind. I also grew to hate adults. It was if we were something they ate and threw up. In and out. Softened by civilization, then thrust out into the open again. And I grew to hate all _Horrificus,_ except for a few friends and Aura.

And all I have just said? That was what we were.

I was the stealer, the fighter, and the one who sacrificed everything. In doing that, I gave up myself.

So who cared if I died this instant? I would not think anyone would. Perhaps Aura would be in grief, but Marco would forget me. Eventually. And all my old friend had probably forgotten my existence.

I was a monster. A monster trapped in a fair body. Ironic. But who was to care for that? I was even more grotesque in mind now than I ever had been. If creatures looked like they were on the inside, I would have been so hideous that you couldn't bear to look at me.

At least I realized it.

I, the ferocious, wild, and morose being, would die. I would never care for anyone, and no one would ever care for me. The thought saddened me, but I brushed it aside. I _knew_ that alone, out there, in the world, no one would take responsibility for my actions. I can not commit a crime, then walk away and have someone else be punished for me. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I had an early taste of how cruel the society is to the poor, miserable ones. The strong would survive. The weak would die. You must oppress the weaker and obey the stronger. That is the way of life.

Each and everyone, fighting each other, to see who would win the struggle to survive, who would die in the making.

Like a wolf pack.

The strongest run in the front. The young and the old run in the back. They are the ones getting eaten. They are the ones that will die first.

Have you ever heard of a bird pushing his/her sibling out of the nest? That is to insure that it will get all the food, will be the one to grow up, to be the well-nourished one.

Perhaps you think that is a tragedy. Perhaps you think that nature is not that ferocious.

You fool. You imbecile.

Stay out in the wild for a week without any equipment. Let's see how gentle you think nature is now.

I think that you will realize how soft and easy to push around you are. You can not depend on anyone for your life. That shows you have lost the fight, the struggle, to win over all.

You are responsible for you. No one else will take responsibility for your actions. It's harsh, cruel, and brutal out there. You will die, you will be crushed, the way you are now.

Take it from me. I learned it the hard way.

And you see the living result right over here.

Perhaps I should've been crushed. Perhaps I should've died.

But there was something there, something metal-like, that kept me alive.

Perhaps that is why I am unique.

Perhaps.

To hell with that.

Citrine came over. "Hey," she said.

"Hello," I replied, "they called you too?" I did not in particularly like Citrine; we were constantly grating against each other, two hard beings, both unwilling to yield to the other's pressure. After all, two suns can not share the same universe.

Citrine took that comment exactly as I had thought she would've. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Don't think that just because you're prophesied to be a great warrior that no one else can fight too. But then again, you _are_ moronic. So why am I telling you this and wasting my breath on you?"

"Ah," I said, not in the mood to come up with a snappy retort, "but it is also prophesied that I will die, too. And after that, you can take my place." I turned around and walked towards another corner of the room.

Looking back at my hand, I wondered what I was. Who was I really? Just an outer shell, made up of nothing inside? Yeah, you could see the blood pulsating through the veins, but that was all mechanical. Who was I, down deep inside? Who was I? I couldn't even predict what I was going to do next. I hadn't the faintest inkling of who I was. And come to think of it, I hadn't realized it until now.

I blinked.

"Calling all soldiers to the Commander! All trainees to the Sergeant!" the intercom announced. I walked over slowly to the Commander, barely noticing that everyone was separating to let me through. I heard, faintly, soft whispers being said, and points in my direction. But I didn't care.

"Ah, Aolani," said the Commander, bending down toward me. She was actually a very nice lady, with long golden curls and deep-set black eyes like the rest of us, but when it was war-time, she would torture you with her commands. "Aolani, my dear," she said again, "what position would you like to take?"

I was being given first priority. Usually the most experienced had first priority. And what was I? A fresh soldier, right out of the Academy. So why was I given first priority?

My brain was sluggish. It felt as if I was drugged. But I was still able to think. There were 5 major positions. The single role in front, the inspiration soldier, who usually got killed, right in front of the rest. Then there were three groups, First Division, Second Division, and Backup Division, our "army". The last role, in the back, was the "watch". I was thinking, but I already knew what I was supposed to choose. Not _supposed_ to, but prophesied to.

I looked straight into the Commander's piercing eyes and said, "I'd like to be the inspirational soldier."

There were gasps. Usually the reckless and wild chose the position; the ones with nothing to lose and everything to gain. And what was I again? I didn't know.

**Chapter Five**

Aolani

"Alright," said the Commander, "you may have the position." She said it rather slowly and gave no hint of shock or surprise. "If that's what you want."

"I want it."

"Alright," she said yet again. Then she turned to the other ones. I could see Citrine glaring at me. She was burning holes on the back of my neck.

Years ago, there had still been something of me left.

Now there's nothing of me left.

So much for that.

I wish I was normal. That I wasn't unique.

But then again, my heart can't let me wish, can I?

Ha ha. Stupid question.

The Commander was "rehearsing", I guess you could say. She jerked me forward and placed me in the front. The very front.

Unarmed.

That was the job of the inspirational soldier. They fight bare-handed and are supposed to give the rest of us shame for losing _with_ weapons. Supposed to. If I had been in any of the divisions, I wouldn't have looked at the inspirational soldier. I'd just be fighting for revenge.

But then that's me.

Who knows about anyone else?

I bit my lip as I headed towards the VERY front. The trainees were all in the very back, even behind the watch. As I passed Citrine, she spat at me. 

I ignored her.

There was something wrong with me today. My brain was not thinking normally. I didn't respond as I normally would; Perhaps I _was_ drugged.

At least I wasn't the bugle blower. They are not even soldiers, but young ones, usually orphans, that are dragged out to blow the signals. Every time a war is over, they engrave his/her name on a huge stone wall. Why? They die, of course. Do you really think that you can survive hiding behind a bush unarmed?

Of course not.

My thoughts were not sluggish anymore. Instead they had become acute; very acute. There was something wrong . . . perhaps I was going insane. But that was absurd! If this would make me insane, then I would've gone insane when I had been a little street child fighting others because of the sheer joy of it. The pump of adrenaline was worth any cuts and bruises received later . . .

"Aolani!" came the sharp bark, jerking me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, Commander?"

"We prepare to go to battle. Remember, we will -" she droned on and on into her little "pep talk". I barely listened. But I was giddy with excitement. Clutching my knife, the only weapon I was to have, we marched out slowly to the war front preparations dock.

**Chapter Six**

Jake

I plodded down the hallway, after waking up and discovering Marco gone. I figured he had gone to the twins' room and went, feeling a slight resentment of all the time and energy that was lavished on Aolani and Marco basically ignoring me.

I pushed open the door and went into what seemed a crystal explosion. Crystals of every shape and size hung from about the room. But what fixed my attention the most was the fact that Marco was huddled on the bed with Aura comforting him. In my mind I unconsciously acknowledged the fact that Anne wasn't there. And Marco . . . Marco. He was _crying._

No, I don't mean all that "boohoo" sort, but just one tear running down and the crying person doesn't acknowledge it at all.

"Marco!" I said, leaning against the doorway in shock. Marco glanced up, saw me, and quickly turned away. Aurelia got up and shut the door behind us.

"Uh, excuse me, but may I ask, why the hell is my best friend _crying?"_ I demanded. I had a suspicion that Aolani had made Marco become "upset."

I was right.

_"Marco_ offended Anne, okay? So, knowing Anne, she flew into a terrible rage and said something real heartbreaking to Marco. And now, Marco is real _san xin."_

"Uh, excuse me? What the heck does 'san xin' mean?"

Aura looked straight at me in the eye, not afraid. "It means 'terribly sad', sort of. Do you want to go in there to see him?"

"Uh, okay." She opened the door and I went in, slightly stunned.

Marco was in there, looking out the window. For the first time, I noticed their sunrise. It was beautiful. _Cassie would love it,_ I thought. But I had to talk to Marco. I was, after all, his best friend.

But as soon as I looked him in the eye, I knew he had shut to all responses and probably wouldn't tell me anything.

"Hey, Marco, are you okay?"

Marco looked at me.

"I'm fine."

Then Aurelia came back in. "Marco," she said, with the air of one sheltering a great delight, "would you like to see Aolani?"

**Chapter Seven**

Rachel

I woke up, finding Cassie was also awake. She was gazing out our window.

"That sunrise is really beautiful," I said, yawning. I stretched and tugged her arm. "What're we going to do today?"

Then Marco and Jake came bursting in.

"How strange," I remarked. "Monkey Marco finally taking the lead."

He ignored me.

"We're going to go see Aolani."

"What?" asked Cassie, "isn't she still here?"

"No." replied Marco. Something hardened in his voice. "She's a soldier. We're going to go see her."

Cassie turned to me. "There's your answer," she replied.

After we woke everyone up, ate a breakfast of some very strange but tasty food, Peridot announced she would be our guide.

Citrine glared at Marco.

Sapphire, the oldest, after shooting a nasty look at her, said, "Farewell, my dears." She waved her hand at Peridot.

Peridot smiled her amazing Peridot-patented smile, and in a flash of light, I felt my body's atoms disintegrate.

Have you ever felt like your body was floating in mid-air and the world around you seems so marvelously light? Well, that's nothing close to what disintegrating feels like.

When we materialized again, I felt awfully dizzy. I put a hand to my forehead. "Oh man," I said, "I feel like I'm seasick."

"Have you ever seen Malibu Barbie throw up?" Marco asked, more to me than the others.

"Shut up."

"Are you okay?" asked Tobias, putting one hand over mine.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He didn't take his hand away.

Marco whistled.

I rolled my eyes and took a better look at the place we were in.

The whole thing seemed to be made of marble. Looking closely, I could see that it was actually made up of a different type of mineral, which I could not identify.

"Stay together," instructed Peridot. Suddenly a sort of glow enveloped us. I tried to walk away, but I couldn't. We were sort of "glued" together.

"Aolani!" came a sharp cry. Peridot shot a warning look at Marco.

A girl, who seemed to stand out from all else, turned and looked. It didn't seem to be Aolani, because this was the face of a weak, tired, starved girl, yet still clinging to the last shred of hope. Unlike the cold, iron mask she usually wore.

Then I saw something else. Or rather, _someone_ else.

There was a boy, with brown-black hair and silver-hued black eyes. But they weren't just any eyes . . . little specks of gold danced around like fireflies, every imaginable color was reflected in them, playing their part, yet still letting the viewer see the main color was silver and black. They were wide and alert, with a demure look to them that only enhanced his appearance. And the rest of his "appearance" wasn't so bad-looking either. One other prominent feature was his height. He must've been six-feet tall, yet young as anyone else. And just looking at him made the onlooker feel a thousand times more joyous. They looked perfect together.

Marco was sort of stunned, seeing him, but Peridot was smiling that impish grin of hers.

"A lovely sight to see, ain't it? Simply delightful, seeing those two together again. Mind you, they were sweethearts before the invasion." She shuddered. "Things have changed a bunch since then."

This called my attention to fix on Peridot. Although she was just as slim and supple as all the Gemstone sisters, her voice was a different matter. Loud and jovial, it boomed out over the crowd. The rest were . . . quieter. Yet no one seemed to take notice of her.

{How has it affected you?} asked Ax. I had forgotten that he was there, so intent on observing the others.

She raised her head. "Our other sisters, Emerald, Garnet, Ruby, and Diamond, were tortured to death."

There was a momentarily silence.

Suddenly a peal of laughter broke through the silence, like bells. It reminded me of all joyous things, and Tobias tightened his grip on my hand.

I looked over at Anne again. She was smiling happily, gazing up at the boy. He had made her laugh. And I had never known her to laugh before.

I glanced at Aurelia. Her face betrayed multiple feelings: happiness for her sister, sorrow, yet jealousy occupied a large section. But I felt that "the boy" would be better for Aolani than Marco, although a fellow Animorph and the worst joker I had ever met, could ever be.

" 'is name," Per, as she had told us to call her that earlier, said, "is Xanthe, although Anne calls 'im Kenneth, but I can't imagine why. Per'aps it's more ordinary, although I think it's fine, believe _me."_ She sounded as if she was the world's leading expert on names and how queer they sounded.

Then a sound resonated in our ears and all was quiet. But the sound; I could never describe it. It was like a great story told in a second. It told of tragedy and romance, sorrow and joyfulness, and it was unforgettable. It didn't seem right to use it for something to quiet a crowd. I looked back at Kenneth and Anne; so did Cassie, standing next to me. They were looking at each other with great sadness and Kenneth suddenly swept Aolani into his arms and kissed her. They seemed to be the main focus of the entire crowd, and instead of whooping, as I'm sure some obnoxious people would have done on Earth, they were crying.

"Do they all know them?" asked Jake.

Peridot nodded. "Aolani's famous all right, prophesied to be a great warrior, and Xanthe . . . once you meet him, you'd never forget him, believe _me."_

I was starting to feel that "believe me" was a common quote from Per.

"Whatever," I said.

Marco snorted, the first sound I had heard from him ever since he had shouted, "Aolani!"

Kenneth went to the back of the army, which was a magnificent sight. I wondered how the lot could fit into the whole building. A very pretty lady with golden tresses tied back into a ponytail ushered them out.

"You guys still fight on foot?" Tobias asked, wondering. "But the Yeerks have all sorts of different battle ships and such."

At this, Per swelled, not from anger, but pride. "You shall see," she said, "you shall see."

** Chapter Eight**

Cassie

Peridot waved her hand at us and then muttered, "Now, dears, you can see how they really are."

Suddenly I saw a transformed sight. Hundreds of soldiers, each with their own fighter. Yet I saw Aolani standing alone on top of some sort of flying disk, holding a knife. She would be an easy target for the Yeerks.

Per gasped.

"She - she has taken the spot of the inspirational soldier," she sighed in awe, "I have known Anne for years, but I would ne'er think that she would be ever so gutsy as to volunteer for that position. I see now, why she would be good as dead."

And then they were out of sight.

Peridot muttered to herself, "I'm a good knee-deep awe, I tell ya, a good knee-deep awe-sies."

Suddenly they shot off. I felt myself, in the glowing sphere, go shooting after them. We hovered above the battle. Inside, I cringed. Why? Because all of a sudden I realized how . . . how _indifferent_ I had become to battles and wars. I felt no sympathy as Yeerks were gunned down by unseen soldiers. Of course, I shouldn't feel sorry for Yeerks, but shouldn't there be _some_ small pang of sorrow for them, however small?

Suddenly Peridot's voice became urgent. "Let's go, people! We must leave here now!"

"But -" protested Aurelia.

"MOVE!" Peridot pushed Aurelia back into the glow and we disintegrated again.

We reintegrated in the Gemstone sisters' homes.

**Chapter Nine**

Marco

Numb. I felt numb. As if my body has continued to work without my mind. I. Felt. Numb.

_Hey, chill, man,_ I told myself. _It wasn't as if you'd really loved her or anything. She misleaded you, lied to you. So chill._

"Hey, man, are you okay?" asked Jake. "You're kinda quiet."

"No, I'm okay," I said, giving his shoulder a light punch. "Just need some thinking, that's all."

Jake glanced at me, whispered something to Cassie, then said, "Okay, if that's what you want."

"Uh-huh."

I went up to the twins' room, since no one was there, and Aurelia was supposedly talking with Rachel.

Aurelia opened the door softly about ten seconds after I came in. Cassie followed.

"Whoa," I said, "major babe alert."

They both smiled and Cassie disappeared behind me. No, not disintegrating, but she seemed to . . . blend in with the surroundings.

Aurelia sat down next to me. Suddenly the surroundings blurred. I was crying. Again. Yet I felt no shame at all.

Aurelia was patting me on the back, but I couldn't feel it. While sobbing I managed to say something, although I didn't know what it was. My conscious mind had left, and my subconscious mind took over.

To my surprise, Aura's soft voice penetrated though my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Marco," she was saying, "but we're not perfect. Us, as a species, are mad. We are constantly warring with each other, and this planet is mainly inhabited by children. Did you notice that? We have a life span of 35 years. And then, we are incinerated. Did Aolani tell you our parents abandoned us? True, but that was because they were running from the government, because their time had come. And now, now, they are probably dead, either from the Yeerks or the government.

"Not everyone is pretty. I recall our father was rather plain. In fact, I could bring you to the slums to see those that are grotesque, grim, gruesome, and macabre. We are not a very pretty species considering our history. Or our individual selves. If we can be counted as a species."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Aura suddenly clamped her mouth shut. "I have said too much. And this is all I can tell you: each species, each and every one, has a terrible deed done in its history. Remember that."

"And?" I said, attempting to make her laugh.

She spoke very slowly. "We are like the Howlers. That is why they could not defeat us. Remember that, too."

She turned back to Cassie, motioning for her to come back out. I'd forgotten she had been there.

As they closed the door, I lay back on Aolani's bed and began to think.

**Chapter Ten**

Marco

_Each species, each and every one, has a terrible deed done in its history. Remember that. We are like the Howlers. That is why they could not defeat us. Remember that, too._ Those words . . . they kept circling in my mind, over and over again, while I tried to comprehend what they meant.

I already knew the "terrible deed" part, for had not Ax told us that? But these people, although seemingly perfect, were not. Anne and Aura were living proof of the cruelty and mistreatment of that. But what could be such a terrible deed? All those that I'd met seemed nice enough, yet . . . yet still, there was something, something . . . _inhumane_ about them. But what? What could possibly be inhumane?

And then, _We are like the Howlers. That is why they could not defeat us._

What could it mean? What could it possibly mean? I'd never morphed a Howler . . . it was Jake who had done it. He probably knew all. So I walked out of the room and went to ask him.

"Hey, Jake, man, do you still remember anything about the Howlers?"

"Why do you want to know about the Howlers?" he asked back.

"Dunno, just bored, y'know. But what do you remember?"

Jake gave me a long, searching look, then sighed and said, "They're manufactured in a factory. Killing is a game for them. They're all children, never reproduce or mature, and have wonderful eyes. Lets you see the vital organs in your opponent's body."

"Okay," I said, trying to remember all that. "Okay. I'll be leaving now." I trudged back up to the twins' room before he could say another word.

I had the ability to see clearly from point A to point B. And that wouldn't help me much right now. Right now I was trying to see all the tiny little details between point to point. And that wasn't helping me much at all. And everything Jake had just told me didn't seem to apply to the _Horrificus._

I decided to drop the matter. What did Aolani matter to me anyway? But there was this little nagging voice, whispering in the corner of my head . . . 

* * *

What is twisted can not be  
Straightened;   
What is lacking can not be  
Counted. 

For with much wisdom  
Comes much sorrow;   
The more knowledge, the  
More grief. 

_--Ecclesiastes 1:15, 1:18_

* * *

At last! The list of people to thank 'cuz they helped me with my indecision: Rhi Marzano, Brat Girl, StH_StarFox, Tobiasrulz, and ~Utahraptor~:). Also, The Newcomers Trilogy: A Shattered Soul (Book 3) and the final book of the Newcomers Trilogy will come out in about a month. E-mail any and all comments on this at [ anigirl@columnist.com ][3] or IM me at AniFan121788. Please, please, please, check out my webpage at [ http://anigirl.am.findhere.com][2]! 

* * *

   [1]: mailto:Anigirl@columnist.com
   [2]: http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/anigirlanimorphs
   [3]: mailto:anigirl@columnist.com



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